It’s only mid-December, but dramatic weather swings already seem to signal California’s transition into winter – and it’s probably far from over.

Just last week, a major wildfire fueled by dangerous Santa Ana winds raged in Malibu, and a powerful storm dumped several feet of snow on the mountains, caused flooding in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County, and formed a tornado .

And now forecasters are warning that similar conditions are likely to occur again this week, with strong winds in Southern California causing further fire concerns and a number of atmospheric rivers rushing toward Northern California, potentially causing more flooding and headaches for travelers.

These varying winter weather patterns are the latest reminder of how dramatically different California can be in terms of climate, especially when it comes to early winter precipitation.

“It’s pretty common for other parts of the West to be targeted and we’re kind of left out,” Robbie Munroe, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, said of the relative dryness from Southern California to the north. He said the sharp contrast often fades in January or February as the jet stream – which tends to steer moisture-laden storms – shifts further south.

Read more: With bone-dry conditions, Southern California’s high fire danger could continue into the new year

Although Northern California grappled with heavy rains and strong winds this weekend – closing roads in Sonoma County, felling trees along the North Bay coast and knocking out power to thousands of people – firefighters in Southern California continued to work on the bone-dry landscape around the Location Franklin Fire in Malibu, which was just over 50% contained early Monday.

The Southland remains in high fire season, which could last into the new year without any drenching rains, and forecasters say more Santa Ana winds are on the way.

A red flag warning will be in effect for much of Ventura County and western Los Angeles County starting Tuesday afternoon, with northeast winds up to 40 mph and some isolated gusts up to 60 mph, particularly in San Gabriel, Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains.

Munroe said winds are not expected to be as strong or dry as the winds that fueled the Franklin Fire last week, but conditions are still delicate with low humidity and dry brush. This “traditional Santa Ana corridor,” which includes the region where the mountain fire exploded in November, will once again have the potential for extreme behavior if a fire breaks out, Munroe said.

“Meteorologists and firefighters across the region remain concerned about the susceptible fuels we have seen recently,” said the fire weather warning early Monday, which was later upgraded to a red flag warning.

There was initial hope that Southern California could see heavy rain by the end of the week, when a line of wet storms were expected to move south from the Gulf of Alaska, but those have mostly dissipated.

“Most rainfall impacts will most likely remain to our north,” Munroe said.

According to the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center, the next period of wet weather is expected to begin Friday in Northern California, bringing more rain, snow and possible flooding to the region as “a number of atmospheric rivers move inland.”

“We are expecting a wet week next week,” said Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “We could remain in a wet pattern through Christmas week.”

This precipitation will come days after much of Northern California was drenched last weekend and into Monday. The most severe storm brought heavy rain and strong winds on Saturday, triggering the first tornado warning in San Francisco, where wind gusts of up to 80 miles per hour caused widespread damage.

While one twister did not touch down in San Francisco, one touched down south in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado recorded winds of up to 90 miles per hour as it tore a nearly 100-foot-wide path nearly a third of a mile long. At least three people were injured when the tornado toppled trees and utility poles, tore off branches, overturned vehicles and damaged street signs, the weather service reported. It was classified as a weak E-F1 tornado, which the National Weather Service considers a moderate tornado on its EF-0 to EF-5 scale.

While tornadoes are not a regular occurrence in the Bay Area, several have been recorded in the area, including seven more in Santa Cruz County, the National Weather Service reported.

The weekend storm also dropped significant amounts of snow in the northern Sierra Nevada, including more than two feet of fresh powder in Lake Tahoe. Rapid rains temporarily flooded some streets and underpasses in the Bay Area and submerged cars on a low-lying street in Livermore.

It doesn’t look like significant winds will be associated with the next round of storms starting Friday, Oudit said, but noted that some forecasts are still too far in the future to say with certainty.

Times staff writers Andrea Chang and Ben Poston contributed to this report.

Sign up for Essential California to get news, features and recommendations from the LA Times and beyond delivered to your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.